Loose Ends
by pen237
Summary: Carlos and Jill watch Jaws, talk, drink, and do other things while on the ship at the end of the game. Takes place after Resident Evil 3. CarlosJill. Oneshot. Rated for non-explicit sex, drinking, and smoking.


Disclaimer: I do not own Resident Evil 3, Titanic, or Jaws. This is strictly fanfiction.

I enjoyed writing this.

* * *

"Hey, Jill. Let's go watch a movie."

Jill turned to him from her seat beside him.

"What?"

"You know, relax a little!"

All this had definitely been a great strain on Carlos. She still remembered the time he nearly broke down and she ended up slapping him, feeling stressed herself.

Still, she stared. Why a movie?

"A movie?"

"The ship has movie nights. I'll buy us popcorn. Let's go!"

"...if you say so."

That evening, Jill sat in a small theater with Carlos. She hadn't really cared what movie they'd watch, since she was certain she was too preoccupied, but she was attentive enough to lift her eyebrows when she saw the title screen.

JAWS.

"Carlos, are you sure about this movie?" she whispered.

"Well, I thought since we're on a ship and this movie's ocean-themed...it'd be fun?" he whispered back. "Why, you think we should watch something else? The other ones are When in Rome and Godzilla."

She thought she might be a bit put off by both movies for different reasons. The first, by its casual tone. The second, by the destruction of a city by a monster as its main plotline.

"Let's just watch this one."

The last she remembered, Jaws wasn't too bad.

Throughout the movie, she ended up appreciating the situation. Her mind drifted to possibilities as to where Chris might be and what had happened to him. The trip would be over in two days, so she needed to be prepared once they hit land. But as soon as she got too deep into thought that it became uncomfortable, she could become distracted by the events in the movie.

Once the movie was over, she felt surprisingly refreshed. Somehow, watching shark attacks and close-ups of people's faces frozen with fear had put her to ease.

As the credits began rolling, Jill expected Carlos to start talking, so she was surprised when he remained silent.

"You okay, Carlos?" she asked as they stepped out onto the deck. It was a cool night.

"Yeah," he smiled. "What'd you think?"

"I watched it before, but I still liked it. How about you?"

"Aw, you should have said you already saw it! It was fun, but I couldn't get my mind off things."

Jill was sympathetic but felt distant. She was somewhat numb and felt like a different person. Her usual cheerfulness was eluding her. She realized these were experiences were normal after being in high-stress situations, but her lack of feeling was disturbing her.

"Carlos, how about we go get a drink?" She honestly couldn't think of adequate words. She could just say what she was thinking and acknowledge silently that what they'd gone through was beyond small comforts.

He looked relieved.

"Yeah, I could really go for that. You mind if I smoke?"

She used to before their time in Raccoon City, but found now that she didn't. She shook her head.

"Thanks, Jill."

Carlos pulled out a pack and lit it. He looked different with it, older. His usual youthfulness seemed to disappear.

"You want one?" He held out the pack with a small smile. She smiled back.

"Sure," she said.

"You don't smoke, huh?"

"Just tried it once, but I'll try again."

She took one and he lit it for her.

They found a bar and got themselves vodka and a couple drinks as chasers.

Then, they found a place to sit on the dimly lit deck, near the railing. They couldn't see much of the ocean, but could hear it.

They didn't talk and took turns pouring for themselves.

Jill found the cigarette a bit overwhelming but still pleasant to hold onto and draw from time to time.

She'd told him she would look for her partner Chris after getting home. Carlos had told her he would go home and lay low for a while.

Being part of a highly trained rescue team meant that you'd meet a lot of people, but it wouldn't take long before she'd have to go on to the next thing. She knew she had a duty to bring down Umbrella. But she also was aware of the trust she had built with Carlos, and it being as small as it was, she appreciated it and knew she'd miss it.

"Hey, Carlos," she spoke up, breaking the silence.

"Hm?" he looked to her, a little sleepily.

"I never really got to say it, but I bet it wasn't easy getting a vaccine in a dead-infested city, so thank you."

He grinned, looking a little less weary.

"Come on, Jill. If it weren't for you, I wouldn't have made it out of there either. I lost it." It was obvious that he was embarrassed, but he went on. "It was a first for me, but I'm glad you got me out of it."

She didn't want him to feel bad.

"I lost it too. I shouldn't have hit you like that. I turn nasty under stress."

"It's fine," he shrugged, looking a little more relaxed. "I'm glad you did."

There was silence again. They drank bit by bit until they had gone halfway through the bottle. It was late.

"Jill, you're pretty amazing," Carlos said, sounding more tired than ever. He had drawn up his knees and was leaning on one. "You lose friends and you still keep going. I don't know if I can do it."

Jill felt slightly queasy, but shook her head.

"It's hard," she replied, "but I don't have a choice. Or more people will get hurt."

"Yeah," he nodded. He took steady breaths. "I hope I can keep going."

"You will." She stared out. She could actually see some of the crests of the ocean waves. She didn't feel the same around Carlos as she had around most other men. He seemed to trust her a lot, and even respect her. She could be hard and honest. At the same time, she trusted him too, because he'd protected and risked his life for her. "You'll definitely keep going. Bad things happen, but it'll get better."

Carlos gave Jill a smile, which she returned. His clean white shirt, his young face, his upbeat way of talking - it was easy for her to feel hope looking at him. She suddenly wished she didn't feel tired and that she was wearing that white dress she had. If she were in his shoes, she'd feel better looking at a happy woman in a white dress. It sounded silly even to her, but it could inspire confidence. Oh well. She drew up her knees. Wearing a sweater and pants made her feel safer.

"I'm tired," Carlos remarked.

"So am I."

They made their way to their rooms.

When they should have separated, Carlos to his room and Jill to hers, Jill found herself following Carlos. He raised his eyebrows at her.

"Jill? What's up?"

She could see the bags under his eyes.

"Whoops," she said. "Sorry. Guess I'm pretty out of it."

"That's fine."

She turned and went. She changed and got into bed. Suddenly, loneliness overwhelmed her. She knew she was being needy, but still. She felt Carlos wouldn't mind.

So she put on her sweater and walked over to his room, which was quite far from hers. He answered her knock more quickly than she expected.

"What's up?" he whispered. The hallway was quiet.

"Uhh, sorry," she stammered, as quietly as she could. "I, uh, can't sleep. Can I sleep here?"

He frowned, looking concerned. And conflicted.

"You okay? Bad dreams?"

"No."

He looked at her, then let her in.

Carlos gestured to the bed.

"You can have it," he said. "I'm not feeling too tired, and I'll sleep later." He walked over to the window, which was open. He had been smoking - his cigarette was in the small ashtray.

"You can keep smoking if you want. I don't mind," Jill said, taking off her shoes.

"Nah, it's fine. But I'll just sit here for a while. Sleep tight, and let me know if you need anything." Carlos sat in a chair next to the window and gave her a smile.

"Okay," said Jill.

She woke up to an empty room. She lay in bed until Carlos came back, holding a paper bag.

"Morning," he said, looking a little harried. "How do you feel?"

Jill realized she was rather clear-headed.

"I'm feeling pretty good. How about you? Where'd you sleep?"

"Me? I got a headache, but I'll be good after I drink some water. I didn't sleep much, actually, but I already knew I wouldn't after the movie. Here -" He emptied the contents of the bag onto some napkins on the side table. There was a muffin, a bagel, a wrapped sandwich, some bananas, an apple, and an orange. He set down two bottles of water as well. "I didn't know what you'd want, so I just brought a lot of things. Help yourself."

He grabbed a banana and a water bottle.

"That's all you're going to eat?" she frowned.

"Don't worry," Carlos grinned. "I'll eat later. Not really a breakfast person."

Jill was regretting having come to his room at night. She thought he'd probably have slept better if she'd just stayed in her room, though he'd deny it.

"Thank you," she said, picking up a bagel.

They ate breakfast. She wondered how she could apologize. As Carlos walked to the wastebasket to throw away his banana peel, she spoke up,

"Sorry for coming here last night like that, Carlos. I won't do it again."

He looked at her like he'd been expecting her to say that.

"It's fine, Jill. I already told you I knew I wouldn't sleep so good. Lighten up, huh?" He smiled. "I like taking naps, so I'll be taking a lot today."

"Okay," she forced a smile, though still feeling guilty.

Carlos took a deep draught from his bottle of water.

"What are you going to do today?" he asked. "Plan more?"

"Yup," Jill nodded. She'd make extensive use of the ship's business center today.

"All right. I'll be in my room, so swing by if you need anything. Don't get off without saying bye, okay?"

"I won't," said Jill.

She went to her room and spent most of the morning and early afternoon taking notes of what she knew, and what to do next. She thought of possible pitfalls and how much she could trust certain people. Carlos, she knew was harmless and didn't know much, but she knew it would be better not to get any closer to him than she already had. Jill took several walks around the deck afterward, and went back to her room to plan.

Once evening hit, she heard a knock at her door. Looking in the peephole, she saw it was Carlos. She opened it and let him in.

"Hi, Carlos," she said.

"Hey, Jill," he said. "How's it going?"

"All right," she said. "You get to sleep any?"

"Yeah," he said. "I slept most of the day away. You want to grab dinner?"

Jill wondered if that counted as getting closer to Carlos.

"Okay," she said.

After dinner, they got drinks wordlessly, as though it were understood. While sitting and drinking, they talked again.

She was soon following him again to his room.

"Jill?"

"Sorry." She turned and ran to her room.

She stretched and flexed until she felt tired, and crawled into bed.

_Knock knock knock_

Her heart dropped. She opened the door to see Carlos.

"Hey, Jill, sorry, just wanted to check. I got worried after you ran off like that."

"Yeah, I'm okay. Sorry, Carlos." She felt pained.

"All right. You want me to stay till you fall asleep or something? I'll just sit there."

She hesitated, but not for long.

"Sure," she said.

She wondered if she could blame it on the drinks. She could probably blame it on going through a living nightmare. She was still feeling so numb and unlike herself.

"Thanks, Carlos," she said. "You're a good guy."

"Nah, it's nothing, Jill."

She settled back into bed. As time passed, she realized she didn't want to sleep. She felt dizzy still from the drinks. She looked at Carlos. He was facing away from her, sitting back in her chair. She knew that what she was about to do, she couldn't blame on drinks or past trauma.

"Carlos?"

Carlos looked up to see Jill standing in front of him. She looked flushed and tired.

"I really like you."

He jumped, eyes wide, mouth half open.

"But after this I have to go and I might never see you again."

Jill was beginning to cry. Carlos blinked and watched her, gripping his seat arm.

"I might even die. What do I do?"

She broke down completely. Carlos was holding her before he knew what he was doing.

"Jill...don't cry."

She could hear his heart hammering.

"I like you too. And things are crazy right now, but you don't know if we'll never see each other again. Plus, I thought you had a thing for your partner, Chris. He'd probably take better care of you than me, since he knows you better and everything, you know?"

He looked down at her. She looked distressed. He thought he probably shouldn't have said that.

So he continued to hold her until she was done crying. They fell asleep together and didn't speak much the next day. Jill continued planning, and Carlos occupied himself with planning of his own. Again, the evening found them drinking. They talked, this time about their past.

Again, Jill followed Carlos to his room.

This time, she didn't stop.

They attacked each other, with all the fierceness they'd had when fighting the horrifying creatures of Raccoon City. Carlos was so gentle Jill felt herself near tears. His tan skin, his scars, his tender eyes: she wondered how someone so young could be so tough, handsome, and kind. But as the night grew deeper, he took on new expressions she didn't know he could have. His rough hands carefully held her hips. Jill put her arms around his neck. A stubbled kiss found her neck. She pulled her body totally against his, curving from the bed. She whispered his name. He smiled at her, and she found herself shuddering uncontrollably, vision sparking, and her entire body warm. He took a sharp breath and clenched the bed covers tightly in his fists.

The next day, they slept in.

Their good-bye was quiet. Carlos had a wide smile. Jill saw a look of strength restored to his eyes that hadn't been there for a while. She herself felt closer to who she was before, less unfeeling, more determined.

They did kiss, soft and lingering.

Carlos gave Jill his address - a country she'd never been to before. He told her about his parents and sister.

Jill gave Carlos her e-mail address. She wouldn't be able to divulge information, but she would be able to ask after his health and let him know how she was doing.

Jill went to find Chris and fight the Umbrella Corporation.

Carlos went home and waited, taking care of his parents and researching Umbrella Corp. He worked odd jobs - fishing, manual labor, accounting - reasoning to himself that one of them should stay relatively safe.

When the day came, Carlos was watching news with his parents and sister. A knock at the door sent Carlos and his sister into a brief to-and-fro about who'd answer the door, which he quickly lost. Shrugging, he slung his shirt over his shoulder. He dropped his soda when he saw a weary but smiling woman, wearing a straw hat and a white dress.

"Jill."

They embraced, his family demanded an explanation, and his mother insisted Jill stay with them for a while.

Jill explained that she had changed her identity for safety, and that after she had suffered serious injuries, had become indisposed as a soldier. She retired, spent some years letting things calm down and tying up loose ends, and had come to Carlos, a bit late in the years. Carlos smiled and talked as though over ten years had not gone by.

Jill was surprised Carlos had stopped smoking. She herself had become quite the smoker.

"It reminded me of you," she sighed.

She moved into an apartment not far from his home, not going out much except when Carlos visited. He brought her an occasional rose ("Like your last name," he'd wink) and proposed to her after several years.

Both wondered when time found them running a small plant nursery, raising rascally children, and catching up on years they'd missed.

They argued, reconciled, and were thankful for the opportunity to worry about less awful things than losing each other to horrifying ends.

When the years had caught up to them, they went on a cruise ship with their children.

"Let's watch Jaws," said Carlos to Jill.

"With the kids?"

"They're old enough."

She looked at her teen daughter and son.

"All right."

The rest of the day their daughter refused to step out on the deck of the boat, and her parents had to talk with the staff to make certain the ship was ready in the event of a Titanic-scale sinking and a Jaws-scale shark attack.

"Maybe we should have watched Godzilla," Carlos joked.

Jill kissed him.


End file.
